Volkswagen is having a tough week following this morning’s news that the Felicity Ace cargo ship sank with over $100 million in vehicles onboard, and now the automaker has also announced it will halt production at two EV plants in Germany. VW has shared that Russia’s attack on Ukraine is the cause for this halt, and production of VW, Audi, and Cupra compact BEVs (built on VW Group’s MEB platform) will be be affected.
In a statement made to Automotive News Europe, a VW spokesperson said that the company will halt production at its Zwickau plant from Tuesday to Friday and at its facility in Dresden from Wednesday to Friday. “The Volkswagen Group’s global supplier network, which comprises more than 40,000 suppliers, also includes some suppliers in western Ukraine. Due to the current situation in this region, there may be disruptions in the supply chain.” Deliveries of electrical cable harness has also come to a halt, unsurprisingly, as they are produced in Ukraine, along with a number of other components.
Volkswagen Transparent Factory Dresden
Late last week, VW Group CEO Herbert Diess revealed that the automaker had assembled a “task force” to “assess the possible consequences of the events in Ukraine on the company.”
Unfortunately, VW sources components out of both the Ukraine and Russia, and with the current sanctions placed on Russia, VW will be unable to export any vehicles or import parts made there. Moreover, Central and Eastern Europe are an undeniably important sales market for VW Group, with 2021 deliveries in the region reaching almost 660,000 vehicles across all brands.
